Three teenage girls arrested as minors in possession got a
real-life lesson when one of them nearly died of alcohol poisoning.

Part of their sentence was to go to a middle school and give
a presentation on the dangers of alcohol. They told the kids how scary it
was for them to see their best friend almost die from drinking.

The girls’ sentencing was administered by other teens, members
of the Linn County Peer Court. Over the past dozen years, youth peer courts
have sprouted all over the state, with about 40 now running in cities and
counties across Oregon. Most follow a similar model to Linn County’s, and
the results have youth advocates waxing enthusiastic.

For offenders charged with first-time misdemeanors, the benefit
of peer courts is as "a preventative tool," says Melinda Baxter,
a lawyer who works as coordinator for Lincoln County Teen Court. "Overwhelmingly,
they say they that if they hadn’t been involved (in being sent to peer court),
they would be in greater trouble."

"The goal is to hold teens accountable for their behavior,
and to do it in a positive way to keep from impacting their future," says
Toni Johnson, a Waldport lawyer who has volunteered for seven years as a
judge for Lincoln County Teen Court in Lincoln City and Newport. Peer courts
provide offenders, as well as the youth who serve as jurors, attorneys, bailiffs
and clerks, knowledge of the law and the justice system and "insight
into themselves," and give them "more empathy for others," Johnson
says.

Teen court attorneys April Gonzalez (left) and Kayla
O’Brien have a sidebar with Judge Toni Johnson during a recent session
in Lincoln County Teen Court.

Offenders who go through peer court "have told me repeatedly
it was kids their own age, using positive peer pressure, that really
made a difference to them," says Ron Jacobsen, coordinator of Linn County
Peer Court. "They stood up and listened, as opposed to (what they would
do with) any adult. They really care what their other peers think about
them. That’s the "secret" to peer courts’ success, he says.

Johnson agrees. "Oftentimes they glaze over when a judge
talks, but they’re impacted by kids," she says. "The jury asks
... some great questions; they get to the heart of the matter much more effectively
than adults do. The peer group has more sway in the teen years."

Individual peer courts work slightly differently, but the basic
concept is this: When a police officer cites a youth for a misdemeanor — commonly
for being a minor in possession of alcohol or marijuana, or breaking curfew
violations — the defendant has two choices: go to juvenile court, with the
possibility of garnering a criminal record and possibly losing a driver’s
license, or admit guilt and go to a youth peer court.

Volunteer youth from ages 12 through 17 serve as jurors, though
generally half the jury also is comprised of teens who have been defendants
themselves, one of the requirements of going to peer court. Prosecuting and
defending attorneys are trained volunteer teens, as are the bailiff and clerks.
Most presiding judges are adult attorney volunteers, who enforce the rules
of court.

Lincoln County Teen Court administrator Melinda Baxter confers with her daughter and teen court attorney Amity Jonse in preparation for an upcoming case.

"The teens actually run the entire court," notes
Johnson. "I do not get involved in sentencing." Juries are taught
to concentrate on accountability and rehabilitation, not punishment, and
juries are "extremely compassionate, very just," she says. "I’ve
rarely seen a sentence I thought inappropriate."

That’s not to say the kids are too lenient, points out Edward
S. McGlone III, assistant counsel for Clackamas County who volunteers in
Washington County Peer Court: "They really sock it to kids. They’re
reasonably compassionate, and pretty tough." He says some jurors volunteer
to serve even after their one-time requirement ends, so "they must have
gotten something out of it." Linn County’s Jacobsen concurs. "They’re
as tough as I would be, in some cases even more tough," he says. "We
try not to be as punishment-oriented, but help them make better decisions
in the future."

Sentences generally involve community service projects, future
service on a peer court jury, and often special additional assignments, such
as serving restitution, sending an apology, writing papers about the negative
impact of substance abuse on teens, or visiting with emergency medical technicians
or emergency physicians. Some courts also require as part of the sentence
attendance at a self-esteem workshop.

Teen court attorney Jay Welch sums up before the jury (and three parents) during a recent session of Lincoln County Teen Court.

"(Former) offenders serving as jurors — it was hard for
me to get past that," admits Jacobsen, who says that at the beginning,
he was apprehensive about that aspect of peer courts. "It turns out
that is one of the biggest strengths of the program."

Johnson and McGlone say they’re amazed at jurors’ creativity
in developing sentences. Johnson recalls one offender who had been cited
numerous times for skateboarding on sidewalks. The jury had him draw up a
map of his city, she says. "He had to draw where he could skate and
where he could not. (The sentence) was very imaginative."

For volunteer teen lawyers, serving on peer courts can be a
good training ground for their futures. Edward S. McGlone IV, 15 and a sophomore
at Beaverton High School, serves as a prosecuting attorney in the Washington
County Peer Court (sometimes with his father, Ed III, as judge). "I
want to explore a career in law or politics," says McGlone. Serving
has "been a wonderful experience." Plus, "It’s nice to feel
you’re making a difference in the community."

He also believes that sending first-time offenders to peer
court is "less authoritarian, but more constructive" than having
them tried in juvenile court. "The goal is to help the defendant more
than just punish them," he explains. In addition, when defendants serve
on the jury, they see things from the other side, and realize how their behavior
affects the community, McGlone adds.

Edward S. McGlone IV, 15 and a sophomore at Beaverton High School,
serves as a prosecuting attorney in the Washington County Peer Court (sometimes with his
father, OSB member Ed McGlone III, as judge). "I want to explore a career in law or
politics," says the younger McGlone. Serving has "been a wonderful experience."

Parents usually are part of the process, and are in court at
the same time as the juvenile. Scenes often are emotional, says Johnson.
Frequently, when a youth speaks in the courtroom, that is the first time
parents hear his or her problems, and it can be "painful to see their
child in this position," she says. McGlone IV says sometimes a "mom
cries on the stand and asks for help with the child."

Recruiting teen volunteers can be challenging, especially for
small, rural communities, says Baxter. Jacobsen uses current volunteers as
recruiters whenever he can. "If I take some of my high school volunteers,
especially to an eighth-grade class, I showcase them. I let them talk, demonstrate
a mock court, hold a question-and-answer session. Anytime an upperclassman
comes in," the students pay attention, he says.

Although Baxter says measuring recidivism is hard — some youth
commit a different offense the next time — Lincoln County’s completion rate
for its teen court is 98 percent, and "at one time, we figured it saved
the county $300 per case" compared with the cost of juvenile court,
she says. Linn County saw the "number of referrals to the entire juvenile
department" decline after four cities in the county developed peer courts
and the county opened a detention center, says Jacobsen.

An additional benefit of peer courts is that teens involved,
from the ranks of defendants as well as volunteers, often go on to college,
and some become interested in pursuing careers in the justice system. "Several
have gotten interested in the law and gone to law school," notes Baxter.
But she is gratified "seeing a defendant in a coffee shop, with a smile
and with a job. To see them succeeding in anything" makes all the effort
worthwhile, she says.

ABOUT THE AUTHORCliff Collins is a Portland-area freelance writer and frequent
contributor to the Bulletin.

Peer courts in Oregon are run by counties, cities, police and
sheriffs’ offices, and one Indian reservation. Volunteer service is the backbone
of every program.

Serving as a volunteer judge takes time and can be emotionally
draining, concedes Waldport’s Toni Johnson, a member of the California bar
who has served on the Lincoln County Teen Court for seven years. "These
kids and their parents often pour out their hearts when they’re on the stands,
but you can see the huge difference it makes," she says. "They’re
able to move on with their lives."

Johnson hopes more lawyers will become involved. "Teens
are not the easiest group to work with," she observes; but she thinks
adults are gratified that they volunteered once they see the results peer
courts produce.

The National Youth Court Center serves as a clearinghouse for
information about peer courts generally and has a website at www.youthcourt.net.
It lists detailed contact information for all youth courts in Oregon, alphabetically
from Albany to Veneta and provides a wealth of other information. The center
also maintains a website directed at youth who volunteer: www.ycyouth.net.